Oxford faces questions over vice-chancellor’s home makeover

Louise Richardson gets the house rent-free on top of her salaryTom Pilston/Times Newspapers Ltd

The University of Oxford has insisted that its vice-chancellor represents value for money after it emerged that it spent more than £100,000 on refurbishing her grace-and-favour home.

Louise Richardson, who pays no rent for the Victorian mansion despite earning £410,000 including her pension, has already been criticised this month for her “grossly excessive” pay.

Professor Richardson, 59, an international authority on terrorism who is a former dean of a Harvard college and a mother-of-three, moved to the house in April last year after it was refurbished. She lives there during term time, when she uses it to hold regular business meetings and various formal university events for visitors, some of whom use guest accommodation within the property. Professor Richardson considers her private, permanent family home…